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Though the newly remodeled 2,600-square-foot center won't open until July, officials with the nonprofit WNC Communities overseeing the project announced its new name — the Aleen Steinberg Center — during a ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday at DuPont's High Falls Access off Staton Road.

A native of Wisconsin and former Floridian, Steinberg spent summer vacations with her husband and children in Cedar Mountain and came to know and love the forest when it was still owned by the DuPont Corp.

She was one of 22 local residents who got together 13 years ago as "Friends of the Falls" to prevent a portion of the forest from being developed into a gated, luxury community after the manufacturing plant closed. That group later morphed into the nonprofit Friends of DuPont Forest.

The Aleen Steinberg Center is located in a handcrafted log building that once served as a sales office for the defunct development. State agricultural officials have allocated $277,000 in proceeds from a $2.24 million settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority toward upgrading the building. Friends of DuPont has matched $85,000 of that, said WNC Communities Vice President L.T. Ward, with $75,000 already paid.

Steinberg has been a strong advocate for natural and historical resource protection in DuPont. She has worked with Friends of DuPont, the N.C. Forest Service and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and state legislators to raise funds for an education center.

Steinberg has been a DuPont volunteer for years, organizing hikes, maintaining trails and acting as a parking lot host, among other tasks. She also co-founded the nonprofit group Muddy Sneakers, which uses DuPont and other natural areas as outdoor classrooms for fifth-grade experiential education.

<p>A new visitors education center set to open this summer at DuPont State Recreational Forest has been named for longtime forest friend and volunteer Aleen Steinberg.</p><p>Though the newly remodeled 2,600-square-foot center won't open until July, officials with the nonprofit WNC Communities overseeing the project announced its new name — the Aleen Steinberg Center — during a ceremony at 11 a.m. Friday at DuPont's High Falls Access off Staton Road. </p><p>A native of Wisconsin and former Floridian, Steinberg spent summer vacations with her husband and children in Cedar Mountain and came to know and love the forest when it was still owned by the DuPont Corp. </p><p>She was one of 22 local residents who got together 13 years ago as "Friends of the Falls" to prevent a portion of the forest from being developed into a gated, luxury community after the manufacturing plant closed. That group later morphed into the nonprofit Friends of DuPont Forest. </p><p>The Aleen Steinberg Center is located in a handcrafted log building that once served as a sales office for the defunct development. State agricultural officials have allocated $277,000 in proceeds from a $2.24 million settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority toward upgrading the building. Friends of DuPont has matched $85,000 of that, said WNC Communities Vice President L.T. Ward, with $75,000 already paid.</p><p>Steinberg has been a strong advocate for natural and historical resource protection in DuPont. She has worked with Friends of DuPont, the N.C. Forest Service and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and state legislators to raise funds for an education center. </p><p>Steinberg has been a DuPont volunteer for years, organizing hikes, maintaining trails and acting as a parking lot host, among other tasks. She also co-founded the nonprofit group Muddy Sneakers, which uses DuPont and other natural areas as outdoor classrooms for fifth-grade experiential education.</p>